The natural state of humanity that we are all born into is one that is at enmity with God, dead in trespasses and sins, and a child of wrath.
“The spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience, among whom we all once lived according to the flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath like the rest of mankind.” Ephesians 2:1–3
Many people in Canada today think that they are basically good. If you ask them, “Do you think that God is pleased with you? Do you think you’ll go to heaven when you die?” they will probably answer yes. And if you ask why, they’ll say, “Oh, I’m not a bad person. I haven’t killed anybody. I work hard.” If they have a family, maybe they take care of their family. They give to the poor, and so on.
These are all good things. But the book of Isaiah says that even our good deeds are as filthy rags before God because they are stained with sin Isaiah 64:6. So, I want to tell you tonight: if you think that you’re a good person, my question to you is, by what standard? According to whom? According to what standard of morality are you good? Because the only standard that matters is God’s standard, and God expects perfection.
1 Corinthians 6:9–10, says this: “Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.”
I can almost guarantee that each one of you can be found on that list. If you’re a liar, if you’re sexually immoral, if you’re homosexual, if you’ve ever stolen anything, if you’ve ever coveted anything that is not yours, if you have ever used your tongue in anger and reviled somebody, or if you have cheated somebody, then this text says that you will not inherit the kingdom of God. Your state before God is one of separation. His wrath is upon you. But that doesn’t have to be how it is.
Ephesians 2:4–5, says that you are dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, and it continues in v8 : “But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which He loved us, even while we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ.” The solution to your sin problem is not to try harder. The solution to your sin problem certainly is not to bury your head in the sand and hope it goes away, or to numb the pain with drugs, alcohol, sin, and entertainment. That only delays the inevitable.
The solution to your problem is God Himself. While you were yet a sinner, He made you alive together with Christ Romans 5:8. It goes on to say, “By grace you have been saved.” God is so gracious and so full of love that He sent His own Son to this earth to perfectly obey the law that each one of you has broken, and then to die in your place. This is the good news of the Gospel: that while you were yet sinners, Christ died for you.
We all owe God a great debt. Not only has He created us, but even while you are sinning against Him, He gives you the breath in your lungs. Each breath you take is a gift from a gracious God. And how do you repay Him? Do you give Him thanks? Do you worship Him? Or do you continue on in your life as if He didn’t exist? Each day refusing to worship Him, refusing to pray to Him, refusing to seek His forgiveness for the sins you have committed against Him. It’s a spit in His face, and yet He still gives you life.
If you are reading this, and you still have breath in your lungs, then God is still being patient with you, and He is still giving you His grace. But what you really need is the grace found in Jesus Christ.
Look around society today. Canada is very obviously in decline. Western civilization is very obviously in decline. This could be for many reasons, but if you really dig down, it is because we have rejected God. As the book of Judges says, “In those days there was no king in Israel, and every man did what was right in his own eyes” Judges 21:25. Does that not describe Canada? Every man doing what is right in his own eyes?
If you know anything about the book of Judges, in which that text is located, it is the story of Israel’s apostasy and destruction again and again and again. Is that what you want for Canada? For God’s wrath to be poured out on this nation like it was on Israel because the people have turned their backs on Him? Because they think they know better?
Do you know better than God? Do you really think you know better than God? Ask yourself that. Many of you have probably never asked yourselves that, but I think that if you actually ask it and answer it honestly, the answer is yes. If you don’t live your life according to God’s commandments and through faith in Jesus Christ, then by definition you do think that you know better than God. That’s a very dangerous position to be in, not only for society — society will be destroyed — but for your own soul as well.
God does not take pleasure in the death of sinners (Ezekiel 18:23), but He is just, and if you do not repent of your sins and put your faith in Jesus Christ, then you will one day face that justice. But you see, Jesus Christ, after living a life of perfect obedience, went to the cross and died an absolutely horrific death. He was scourged. He was whipped to the point that you could see His bones and muscles through His back. He was mocked and spat on. He had a crown of thorns shoved into His scalp, and He was crucified.
But none of that compares to what happened next: God the Father, for the first time in all eternity, turned His back on the Son and poured out His wrath on Him for your sin. You see, Christians are not saved because we are good people. We are not good people. We are saved because Jesus was good for us.
Our hope is not in ourselves. Our hope is in Christ alone, because He died on that cross and took the full brunt of God’s wrath. The Bible says He drank the cup of God’s wrath, and He drained it to the dregs — the bitter dregs — for you. And then He died on that cross.
The Bible says that the wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23). Jesus paid that wage, not because He sinned — He never sinned — but because you sinned. He paid it for you. And then, on the third day, He rose from the dead (1 Corinthians 15:3–4). God the Father accepted Jesus’ sacrifice, and the world has never been the same.
Because Jesus rose from the dead, we can be forgiven for our sins — for every sin you have ever committed, no matter how disgusting, evil, or heinous. You can be forgiven simply by having faith in Jesus Christ. And God will cover you in His blood, and instead of seeing your sin, your dirtiness, your vileness, and your wickedness, He sees Jesus’ perfection. He sees the innocence of Jesus. There could be no better news than this.
Look at your life. Are you addicted to drugs? Are you living a life of rampant sin? Addicted to pornography, maybe? Living in adulterous relationships? Living through theft? Maybe you’re a liar. Maybe you put on a good face. Maybe everybody thinks you’re a good person, but you know inside that you’re not. You are manipulative. You are fake.
The Pharisees did this. Jesus called them whitewashed tombs. They looked great on the outside, but inside they were dead — dead and rotting. I’m here to tell you that you can’t hide anything from God. He knows all. He sees all. So don’t even try. Rather, turn to Him in repentance. He welcomes it.
Paul says in Acts 17:30 that God commands all men everywhere to repent. It’s hard, I know. It’s hard to admit that you’re wrong. It’s hard to admit that you’re a sinner. It’s hard to admit that you’re not God — that you’re not the master of your own fate. But when you do, and you turn to Jesus in repentance, humility, and faith, He will give you more than you could ever gain in this world.
He told His disciples, “What can a man gain in exchange for his soul? (Matthew 16:26)” Your soul is worth more than anything the world has to offer. And because Jesus rose from the dead, you not only have reconciliation and relationship with God in this life, but you also get to enjoy Him for all eternity in a place without sin, without tears, and without sadness — a true utopia. That’s what you have to look forward to if you put your faith in Jesus Christ.
Look, if you reject this message — if you reject the Gospel — then no matter how hard and bad your life gets here, this is the best it is ever going to be. Because when you die, you will stand before God in judgement. You will see your entire life, every sin you’ve ever committed against Him, and you will have to give an account for it. But can you?
If you reject the gift of salvation that He has extended to you, what hope do you have? And when you’re found guilty, He will cast you into hell, where every breath will burn. Hell is called the lake of fire, the place where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth for all eternity. So again, no matter how bad your life is now, this is the best it is going to get, because it will only get worse in hell — and it never ends. Ten thousand years is only a blink of an eye.
But if you trust in Jesus, then no matter how bad this life is, you have a whole eternity of bliss in the presence of God to look forward to.
1 Corinthians 6:11 says this: “Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.”
The people Paul was writing to were once rebellious sinners who fit that list, and they were not inheriting the kingdom of God. They did not have eternal life to look forward to, but all of that changed because they were washed by the blood of Jesus. And that can change for you tonight.
As you go about your day like any day, do not turn your back on this message — this message of grace and forgiveness. You have sinned against a holy God, but He has made a way for you to be saved from that sin through His Son Jesus Christ, who is God in the flesh, come to live among men so that He could obey His Father and pay for the sins of men. This is why Jesus came to this earth.
He is God. He didn’t have to come. God doesn’t owe us anything. God would have been perfectly just to condemn us all to hell and never offer a way for us to be forgiven. No injustice would have been done there. But that’s not what He did. He did send His Son. God in the flesh came to pay the price of sin for His people.
What other religion has that happened in? What other religion offers forgiveness not based on what you’ve done, but on what God has done? If you place your hope in what you’ve done, in your own good works, that makes you self-righteous. That itself is actually a sin. So not only have you fallen short because of your sin, but your efforts to justify yourself before God are also sinful. You can’t win on your own.
That’s why God requires repentance time and time again in the Old Testament. He told His people, “Sacrifices I do not desire, but I desire obedience and a humble and contrite heart.” He doesn’t want your meagre sacrifices. As Psalm 50 says, “The cattle on a thousand hills are His.” He owns everything. What can you offer God that isn’t already His?
He doesn’t ask for that. He asks for your humble and contrite heart (Psalm 51:17) — a heart that recognizes its poverty before God, a heart that knows it brings nothing to the table, but instead says, “God, have mercy on me, a sinner. (Luke 18:13)”
So, I pray that today is the day of salvation for those of you reading this message. None of you know when you’re going to die. Hebrews 9:27 says that it is appointed once for man to die, and after that comes judgement.
So, my question is: are you ready to face judgement? If you die tonight — which very well could happen — are you ready to face judgement? Take an honest look at your heart and see whether you are ready to face God’s judgement for your sins, for the way that you have lived your life. Have you lived according to His standard? Have you obeyed His law?
The answer is no. Nobody has. We are all condemned and hopeless on our own. So today, put your faith in Jesus Christ alone. Only He can save you.
The fact that you are reading this message means that God’s patience has not yet run out. But that patience is not meant to give you a false sense of security or make you think that He doesn’t see your sin. That patience is meant to lead you to repentance. And one day that patience will run out. Then you will wish that you had made a wiser decision, but you will not be able to anymore. The time will pass by then.
So, I plead with you: end your rebellion. Turn to Jesus Christ. The Saviour welcomes you with open arms. He invites you to come in. This is a free gift of grace. So why would you reject it?
It’s the best gift you could ever receive: a hopeless humanity redeemed by God at the cost of His own life. You have nothing to lose, and you have everything to gain.
We would love to speak with any of you who have questions about this or who would like to know how to put your faith in Jesus Christ. Please reach out to us on reasoninggeneration@gmail.com We would love to talk with you, and we would love to pray with you.
Reasoning Generation 